Soulless
by Casual Kitten
Summary: At a young age Naruto is trained to be the Leafs secret weapon. In one last effort to save what little humanity she has left, Sarutobi gives her an unusual assignment. But is it enough to save her soul? Or will she shed the blood of all those who appose the hidden leaf? (Starts slow speeds up at chapter 4)
1. Chapter 1

Authors Note

So im not going to lie im... nervous. This will be the first story ive ever written that will be seen by people lol. Im positive I have something many people will enjoy. At the same time im sure many people will hate it but you cant please everyone can you? Before we start something to note about me is I struggle with starting a story. From my own personal experience the first few paragraphs can capture or lose a reader in its contents. So I really hope if I lose you, youll give it at least a few chapters before deciding its not worth your time. Well enough rambling on to the first chapter!

Chapter 1

Three cloaked figures stood in front of the Hokage, the shadows of their hoods covering their faces.

Two of the figures stood at a height of approximately six feet. The third, most curious member, stood quite shorter than their two companions at a mere three and a half feet. Another difference was, where as the other two had no visible weapons on them, this one held a sword strapped to its back, it's length a few inches shorter than its owner.

Sarutobi's stern gaze looked each one over, his gaze lingering on the shortest member a moment longer before he spoke.

"I assume the mission was a success?"

One of the taller ones answered. "Yes Lord Hokage. Gato's son, Yasutora, has been eliminated."

"Casualties?"

"Five sir. Yasutora's personal guards."

"Anything else to report?"

This question met some hesitation before it was answered. "No sir. Nothing of interest." He lied. In fact if anything he was disturbed. Yasutora's death was anything but clean. There had been blood everywhere, staining the walls and carpet. It hasn't been an assassination, it had been a slaughter. He wouldn't forget Yasutora's horrified face as he begged for mercy, drenched in the blood of his guards as he stood on his knees, only for the cold steel to pierce his heart. The memory had his eyes shifting to his shorter team mate under the hood. She had been ruthless.

Sarutobi could only slightly raise an eyebrow at the obvious lie, though chose not to question it. The loyalty of any of these three was unquestioned, especially the short one.

"Very well. Kaiden, Kora, you are dismissed. Fox, you stay."

The two tallest members shifted out of the room, the door closing with a click, leaving the shortest member of the group.

"Remove your hood please." Sarutobi asked, the authority from his voice gone.

Without hesitation the figure removed the hood revealing long golden locks of hair that went down to their mid back, and a white fox mask adorning their face.

"And the mask."

This request met a slight hesitation, earning a small grin on Sarutobi's face before he quickly steeled the emotion.

With the mask gone Sarutobi could see her face. Cold blue eyes, three whisker marks on either cheek. She couldn't have been older than six.

He almost sighed at those eyes. They almost always looked like that. Almost. Few things could bring any emotion to them. She had been trained to lack any emotion from birth. But there was only so much that could be taken from a child.

She had been placed in the ghost division at four. It was the perfect place for her. As the Leafs secret 'weapon' no one would ever know she existed. The ghost division required no use of jutsu, only the basics of chakra control. Their primary missions were in spying, and assassinating civilian level targets. Targets like Gato's son.

This meant she would never have to use her 'other' power where everyone would know she existed. Of course she still recieved training from top ANBU and had even gone a few emotional conditioning courses through Danzo's ROOT program to make up for the lack of power the missions required.

All and all he had the perfect shinobi in the palm of his hand. And it sickened him. Shinobi were more than just tools and weapons. They were people too. And he'd be damned if be allowed the Fourths legacy to turn out to be nothing more than a living weapon.

"How are you feeling Naruto? Do you feel anything unusual? Anything abnormal?"

The question went unanswered for a time before it was answered.

"Pain. I know I haven't been injured, but I feel it." Her hollow voice rang out, a tint of curiosity could be detected however.

"It's remorse Naruto. For taking lives. Cherish the emotion Naruto. It hurts, but you'll grow from it."

"Remorse..." She repeated to herself, her eyes lit up slightly, something they tended to do when she was deep in thought about something she had an interest in. It lasted only a few seconds before it was gone again.

"You are now dismissed Naruto."

She returned the mask to her face, giving him a low bow before she left, her footsteps leaving not a sound.

At the sound of the door clicking Sarutobi let out a small sigh. He failed Minato allowing his daughter to lose almost all sense of her humanity. He failed Kushina for being able to protect her daughter from the harshness of reality. And he failed Naruto, for allowing the council to throw her life away.

He shifted the turning chair to look out of the window behind him. Some of the damage from the Nine Tails attack had yet to be repaired. Even some rubble remained at some of the buildings that had been wrecked. After a moment of gazing hd turned back to his desk to continue with his paperwork.

Out of the many papers that littered his desk, one caught his eye.

And that's when it hit him.

It would be risky. And it might not work. And the council would NOT be happy with this decision. But the risk was worth it.

He held the paper in his hand and gave it a look reading the list of names. Yes this would do. Maybe it wasn't too late to save her after all.

Authors Notes

Well thats the first chapter. I really hope ive intrigued some of you. I spent a long time typing this out and a lot of back spacing trying to make this perfect. Im sure there are some things I could have done better but it cant be helped I suppose. Anyways if you liked it be sure to tell me what i did right and if not tell me what I could have done better! Either way, thanks for reading! _


	2. Chapter 2

Authors Notes

So it's Wednesday which means if I remember correctly it was about a week ago I started this story. As for the schedule of uploading from me I'm not sure yet. One a week sounds pretty good to me. We'll see. Probably won't be too long in between uploads. One things that bothers me is the when I have to wait a month or more in between chapters (hence why I usually read only stories that are already complete). Now I wasn't entirely sure what I wanted this chapter to be focused on to be honest. It took some brain storming but considering what the first story arch will be I think I know. Now in case the first chapter wasn't an indication most of this story will NOT follow cannon. In fact some characters depending on what I need from them will be entirely different from cannon. So expect some major changes. Well I think that's enough authors notes for one chapter. I can't be hogging all the glory from my own story now can I? No sir. Enjoy! ;3

Chapter 2

Fugaku Uchiha was a man of many talents. He was the only Uchiha clan head to close the rift between the Uchiha and Hyuuga clans, a rift that had existed since as far back as the first records recorded of Uchiha history.

He had helped undergo negotiations between the Hidden Sand village to repair the alliance between the two powerhouse villages after a rather nasty incident a few years back when relics of past wars fought between the two were discovered. Long story short it gave a rather rough message the the village.

He was a master of fire style jutsu, a prodigy, his control over the destructive force was unrivaled even at a young age.

Past wars granted him a reputation around the world as an elemental sage, someone who's control over an element was so advanced they could force the element to bend to the users will.

But through all of his achievements, through all his titles there was always one enemy that would challenge him like no other.

There was always one enemy that would break his mind and make him fight for victory...

"Done" he said with a gasp the pen he had used to write one last signature falling from his hand onto the wooden desk.

Paperwork, his greatest foe was once again defeated.

But no matter what he couldn't let his guard down. It would always come back. It wouldn't rest, it wouldn't sleep, it wouldn't stop until it claimed him. But for now he could rest a little easier. Until the next time.

A knock at the door brought him out of his musings.

Regaining his composure and steeling his face his "Come in" vibrated with authority.

Hey, Fugaku Uchiha had a reputation to keep.

"You called for me father?"

Saduke Uchiha. While not as talented as his oldest son, Itachi, it did him proud to raise Sasuke.

While his natural talent was not as great as Itachis, Sasuke had something that would inevitably make him surpass his brother.

He had the drive. He had to fight for his achievements, bleed for them.

That's not to say Itachi didn't have to fight tooth and nail for his achievement either, but in Itachis mind he only did what was needed of him.

Sasuke had ambition.

But he was getting sidetracked. Business came first before anything else.

"Son as you know you start in the academy next week. Your ninja training will officially begin. I think it's time I started training you personally"

At this the young Uchihas eyes widened, the words of his father echoing through his mind like a thunder clap.

He had to remind himself who's presence he was in however, and without a moments hesitation he steeled his emotions.

This didn't keep him from keeping calm on the inside though as his mind was still alive with excitement. But his father couldn't see that so it was of no consequence.

"Yes father of course. I look forward to it. Is there anything else?" He said trying, and failing, to hide the excitement in his voice.

Fugaku could look past this though. He didn't expect anything less from him. If was only natural for him to be excited. In fact Fugaku himself was excited at the thought of training his youngest. To see how much his son would grow.

It had been years since he last taught Itachi. Oh yes he was going to have fun with this. Would he ever admit it out loud?

Of course not.

He was Fugaku.

He was also the manliest man in the village. And everyone knows true men don't get excited. Chicks digged the cool guy act.

At least his wife did.

"No son that will be all. You may leave. However be ready at any moments notice I could come get you, and when I do your training officially starts. The training you have received up to that point was a good beginning but this is where the training wheels come off."

His words gave Sasuke chills down his spine. Yes this would most definitely be difficult. But he was ready for it. He could and he would take it. He would make his father proud.

Authors Notes

I hope you'll forgive me for how slow things are starting. But they have to be. I'm very serious about this story and every detail has to be absolutely correct. However things are slow even for me. It sucked waiting a whole week to upload to try and keep a schedule but at this rate it'll be way too long before any of the less boring parts of the story gets here. So I'll try to upload once a day or so. The hardest part about these chapters are the opening sentences. Once I get a start that I like I can roll with it but... Yikes it takes longer to get the first sentence down than the rest of the bloody chapter. Anyways I hope you guys still enjoyed. These first chapters are slow but they are important believe it or not so they are a must have. Until the next time! _ 3


	3. 3

Authors Notes 

Hmm so I would like to start by apologizing. I realize I said I would post daily so that things wouldn't be slow. However I realized that the first two chapters honestly could have been one chapter. So! With fhat in mind I decided it would be best to just make chapters longer. The other things is I was quite bored. Last chapter while necessary bored me (which is why there was some slight humor in the chapter). This fic over all will not be humorous by even a little bit and honestly I want to take the last chapter down but... What's done is done and I can still make due wit what I put down I just have to figure out the changes that need to happen. This isn't suppose to be a funny story but because of the dark road I plan on taking eventually, it will have light hearted and hopefully cringe worthy/funny/lighthearted fluff sprinkled in. I for one am not a fan of anime or stories in general that take themselves to extreme seriousness (unless it's a movie but that's a different scenario). Now before I begin this next chapter I would like everyone who reads authors notes to be aware that I will be posting a chapter for a new story sometime soon. It won't be a legit chapter as much as a teaser. I don't have the entire story fleshed out but the idea in my head is too good in my opinion to hold off on. Between this story and that story I'm like shaking with excitement with the plans I have in the works. Anyways I've taken up enough valuable space. Let's begin the next chapter.

Chapter 3

"You may stand now" Sarutobis voice traveled across the room to the kneeling Uzumaki, who stood still like a statue once in her feet. 

It was disturbing the discipline a mere six year old had. Granted she was no normal six year old and in more ways than one, but that didn't stop it from being disturbing. 

She was like the new generations Itachi Uchiha. A disturbing thought to put it lightly. Itachi's loyalty was unquestioned and his devotion to the third hokage knew no limit. But the young ANBU captain was a killing machine, the perfect shinobi. He could squash his emotions, and like a switch was flipped Itachi's whole demeanor would change. 

Naruto showed the same devotion. She was much too strong to not be put to use as she was a natural prodigy, but after witnessing what putting someone so young in ANBU could do to the soul with Itachi he learned from it. The ghost division was the only way to keep her from being lost. Itachi was socially inept except when it came to his little brother Sasuke, the little Uchiha being the only thing that kept Itachi human. 

But Naruto didn't have a family to fall back on, and he refused to see the fourths legacy become nothing more than a machine. 

Atleast as it was she could retain some humanity. Her first kill showed some promise with that. Itachi showed and felt no remorse but Naruto was proving to be more human. 

He forced himself out of his musings to address the girl in front of him. There was business to attend to after all.

"As you are aware, the ninja academy will start its new year in a weeks time. This year particularly is special as most of the villages respected clans heirs will be attending."

As he spoke he reached down to a drawer in his desk that opened to reveal many files neatly tucked in row, his hand going over the tops of them as if looking for something specific. 

After a moment of searching the drawer closed his hand coming back up with files in hand, though they didn't stay there long as he placed both of them, side by side, on the side of the desk closest to the Uzumaki. 

A hand gesture towards them gave Naruto the wordless command to look through them, her movement making hardly a sound as she walked closer to them. 

She opened the first one to discover this one held Informatuon of a young boy. Her eyes scanned the page for the i formation she was looking for. Finding it her eyebrows rose slightly though she covered up the show of emotion quickly, though not quick enough for the old man not to notice.

Sasuke Uchiha. This file contained information on Sasuke Uchiha from height, weight, age, and gender to more personal information such as his address, immediate family members, and his birth date down to the very minute. 

Her curiosity now peaked she turned to the second file and upon opening it discovered another clan heir, Hinata Hyuuga, with similar information to the Uchiha in the other file. 

She looked up to Sarutobi with a ever so slight curious expression though her eyes burned with the silent question. 

"That is your assignment" he answered her unasked question though this only caused her to tilt her head ever so slightly in more confusion. 

"The eye techniques of both clans are high saught after. These two are young and are likely to be the center of attention to other hidden villages. You are to make sure no would-be kidnappers get their hands on them. You will play the part of a newly enrolled student which should make it easier to get close to them. Once you've graduated with them a squad team will comprise of you along with these two, where you will be able to easier keep tabs on them once they part take in out of village missions with help from the jounin captain."

He said pausing once more to make sure she understood so far. With no sign of confusion he continued. 

"It is of the utmost importance that their eyes do not find their way into the wrong hands. Now as for your current place among the ghost division you will continue to do missions among their ranks though they will now be few and far in between as this mission takes priority. Once placed on a genin squad however you will be removed from their ranks as you will have standard ninja priorities. Understood?"

"Yes lord hokage"

"Good. dismissed" 

A low bow and a sharp turn and the Uzumaki left, the *click* of the door only slightly audible. 

His gaze lingered on the door a moment longer before he turned his attention to an open desk drawer, plunging his hand in it taking out his pipe. Taking a quick puff after lighting it he relaxed in his chair before addressing the other presence in the room in a casual manner. 

"You really ought to change your bad habits you know"

No sooner had he said it did an outline suddenly appear in a corner on the opposite side of the room taking in the shape of a person, details and color filling in a moment later.

"Yes and you would be one to talk of bad habits wouldn't you Hiruzen" the man said motioning to the smoking pipe. Sarutobis lips turned upwards slightly in amusement though he didn't reply verbally. 

"I asked you to over see this mission briefing not spy on it Danzo. No matter all the same. I know you have something forming in that mind of yours. I can hear the wheels spinning from here. Care to share?" 

The man, now named Danzo, waited a moment, as if weighing the worth of the conversation on an invisible scale. After a moment he nodded and sighed.

"Are you sure it's wise to place her with mere children? She hardly shows that she's human nonetheless any qualities of a mere child."

"I assure you Danzo I did not assign her this mission on a whim. She is perfect for the job given her age. And I think you ought to not count her out like that. She might surprise you with how human she can be."

That didn't do anything to ease the old warrior but he chose not to voice his opinion on the matter. He knew a losing battle when he saw one and was not foolish enough to engage whole heartedly into it. He turned away to exit his cane making a *clack* sound with each strike on the floor, giving voice on a different matter as he left.

"Do not think your true intentions are lost on me Sarutobi. You may have high hopes for her, but even you can see that she may be too late to save. I hope your gamble plays out how you hope. For both our sakes."

Sarutobi made no response as his ex-teammate exited. Though, whether or not Danzo knew it, his last words before leaving did leave an impression on Sarutobi. He loathed to admit it but he was aware that it might be too late. Saving the young Uzumaki from a fate of being the leafs living weapon could prove to be impossible. She was becoming what every kage could only pray for. The perfect shinobi. A tool that did its kages bidding and did so with all lack of emotion. And he had the most promising example of such a shinobi under his command. 

And that sickened him. Ninja were human too. And while that human side proved to sometimes get in the way, more so than not it proved to be a ninjas greatest strength. He would save Naruto even if it's the last thing he does as hokage. No. If it's the last thing he does alive. 

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Home. If she could even call it that. More often than not Naruto was away from 'home' either being in missions for days or weeks at a time or training in the training grounds a ways from there. Though with this newest mission the regular assignments she would receive under the ghost division would be increasingly more rare and would only get rarer as time went on until they ceased all together. Something she would need to get used to. Entering her home she sat on the couch in the center of the living room. After a certain time she removed the mask and placed it on the coffee table across from her, the ceramic doc mask staring back at her. Another thing she would need to get used to. She had worn that mask for over a year. It I initially was a gift she received from the third. A present for her birthday. She noticed the mask in a shop and her attention was glued to it her eyes staring at it in awe while the mask looked back at her. The next day she found a box on the coffee table the mask currently layed on and upon opening it was delighted to see the mask. How amusing that of all things to catch her attention it was a fox mask. Amusing giving her current tenant. She found out about that not long after that. 

She wore it at first to hide from the glares of the village. She could walk freely without anyone knowing who she was. The mask did little to hide her hair so she started wearing an orange jacket she never wore. Then when her training was complete and she was placed into the ghost division she used it as her alias. But the more she wore it the more she depended on it. And eventually the line between her and the mask blurred before disappearing entirely. Her old self dying and replaced with what was now Fox. 

But now she would have to abandon the mask. A thought that unsettled her slightly. Her attachment to the mask was the only human thing she would willingly show and admit to. But with this new mission she couldn't be Fox anymore. At least not in appearance. Naruto Uzumaki was effectively dead but she could still look the part. 

Somehow she knew life would only get harder from then on out.

Authors Notes

Well bet you weren't quite expecting that were you? Now I'm sure there are some questions. The most important questions I can think of at the moment are the following: 

Q: how strong is Naruto?

A: Naruto is at least Jounin rank. Now I debated back and forth with the idea. That's why I created the ghost division. Since I couldn't decide I created it so that way in the end regardless of my choice if wouldn't affect the outcome and I could still start the story without committing to either decision yet. If she wasn't high in ranking in terms of power that's ok ghost division is a division that uses those with little training with only the knowledge of how to mold chakra at a basic level so they can carry out simple tasks. Assassinating/spying/information gathering on civilian level people isn't difficult after all. But on the flip side of I did decide to make her a prodigy and high power for her age than the ghost division would serve her to be a secret weapon. Remember hardly anyone knows this division exists and as such Narutos existence is also pretty much a secret at this point. 

Q: why is she given this mission it makes no sense.

A: your right it doesent make much sense. It wouldn't be difficult to just hire someone more qualified to protect the heir and heiress of the clan so why Naruto? Well simply put the mission itself isn't the important bit. I mean it is regardless of who he gave the mission to someone or multiple people would make sure the heirs are safe but the choice in Naruto is to both her qualification as she is at least jounin level and depending on how ambitious I feel ANBU level she is plenty qualified but she will also be with people her age that she will hopefully open up to. 

Q: how is Sasuke heir If Itachi is alive and in the village

A: Itachi is much too busy with his roles as captain to be head of a clan. Also is allegiance is to the hokage. Heads of the clan in this fic aren't necessarily under complete rule of the hokage. The hokage is the ultimate authority but the clan heads act as partners. Their clan will be under the command of hokage while the clan heads are granted a seat of power in the council. Itachi has no intention of having this relationship with Sarutobi. He's content being a ninja under his absolute authority. A cop out? Maybe. To me it makes sense. I mean te father isn't too thrilled about it but Fugaku isn't really enraged or even angry. Itachi chose his path. So now it's up to Sasuke to take on the role of heir. Anyways sorry if these authors notes are long but I like to make my readers feel as though I'm their friend as actually have a conversation of sorts. But to those of you who are tired of the notes but read them anyways rejoice as these authors notes are done. Until next time!


	4. 4

Authors Notes

Nothing really to say here. I'm hoping to make this chapter much much longer so I expand y average words per chapter. Theyer kind of shorter than I would like tbh. Oh well. On to the story. As always I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 4

Fire.

Deadly fire of purifying flames, so hot it was like the gates of hell itself had opened into the world of mortals. 

She couldn't remember much. Only that she had gone to bed, and was suddenly forced awake at the hand around her throat, the scream never had time to even leave her lungs.

Shadowy figures. Head bands. Cloud. All the memories rushed back to her at once. She was being kidnapped. 

She sat up fast, too fast, her head started to swim, the flames of unholy hell blurring in front of her. She felt the ground around her, her hands coming into contact with grass, and then the roots of a tree. She was in the forest. But why was it burning? 

She shook her head to clear her vision and looked side to side frantically looking for an escape, a way out of the ring of fire. A scream behind her caught her attention, and she turned, her eyes widening at the sight before her.

Red eyes stared back at her almost glowing behind the slits of the white fox mask, it's body cloaked in nightmare black standing in front of the wall of fire, a hood covering the hair she assumed would be on its head. The bodies of her kidnappers were thrown about, their bodies in awkward angles, almost like puppets who's strings were cut, their faces frozen in their last seconds of horror . The smell of their blood and burning flesh assaulted her nostrils , the forest floor stained crimson. It's shadow stretched from its position several meters in front of her, and blanketed her in its darkness.

She felt many things in that moment.

More than anything she felt fear. But she also felt... Inspired. 

She stood in the presence of a god. 

A god she was forever in debt to.

 **Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Hinata Hyuuga woke up without even remembering having opened her eyes. 

That dream again. 

No not a dream, she mused.

A memmory. A memmory of overwhelming power rolling off in waves, crashing into her, drowning her in all of its might. 

No one, not even her father had such an aura. She knew her father was powerful. But what she saw that day was... Something else.

After that night she stopped stuttering. After that day she stopped pulling her punches. After that day she wasn't afraid to win or to lose. After that day she picked herself up after every fall and made sure she wouldn't fall to the same trick again. And after that day her father looked at her in a new light.

"Hinata"

She was still quiet. She still hardly ever talked. But she gained a whole new confidence from that event 6 years ago. 

Now she would be able to spread her wings. Today she would become a member of a squad, and she would sore through the ninja world. 

"Hinata!"

Her physical appearance hadn't changed much, other than she now liked to wear her hair longer and she no longer had her coat buttoned up at all times; she no longer felt the need to hide behind it. The most noticeable change however came under it. At 15 years old she was beginning to fill out. She grew curvier, and and was well endowed for her age. 

She had survived a lot through her 15 years, and she felt more than ready to go out there and show the world who's boss.

" **HINATA!!"**

Although one thing she couldn't survive... A very angry Hiashi. 

"Coming father!" 

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Iruka Imuno was not easily shaken. After looking the nine tailed demon fox in the eyes AND watching it kill your parents, there wasn't much the world could throw at you that would intimidate you. 

Apperently the world accepted this thinking as a challenge, and threw the enigma that was Naruto Uzumaki at him with a "fuck you" and "have a nice day". If the world was a living being, Iruka couldn't help but imagine it would feel real smug about itself right now.

At first he tried to open up to the girl. He knew she was an orphan and lived alone. He could relate. 

But.

Any attempts to make any conversation with her was a colossal failure, that usually ended in an awkward, and very much unintentional, stare off, her cold blue orbs piercing him right to his soul. 

But Iruka was known as a very determined man. If conversation wouldn't get it done then maybe taking her for a bite would get her to warm up to him. And what better place than Ichiraku's Ramen? 

This was also futile. After finishing a bowl she left after saying "It was very good" in a level voice and left without another word. She didn't even let him pay the bill...

But he was determined dammit! In a last ditch effort he decided maybe If he teased her some she would show something. 

Unprofessional as a teacher yes, but never let it be said Iruka didn't try his best! With a sly smirk and a hand on her shoulder he couldn't help himself when, after a sparing session in class, he said "So Naruto, I couldn't help but notice you and Sasuke have been hanging around eachother a lot more recently" (Insert suggestive eyebrow wiggling here)

THAT was a mistake (not that he would even remember making it). One that promptly landed him with a chakra enhanced fist gifting him a new scar on the back of his head, (when asked by the Hokage Naruto didn't have any clue "why" and had no answer other than "It felt necessary")

Iruka never fully gave up (although was very careful as not to anger her again lest he lose his head *gulp*)but he never could get through to her. Unbeknownst to him though he was giving Naruto a new experience she would never forget...

Annoyance.

To Iruka today was like the end of an age long war, one that he would never admit to being the loser of. Today would likely be the last time he would see her. And as much as it shamed him to know he failed to get to her, more than that he felt...

Free. 

No more Naruto. 

Hehe.

The thought almost brought a smile to his face. Oh yes. He was celebrating tonight, with a smile on his face, smashed out of his dome.

Don't judge him it had been a long 9 years...

Ok judge him a little bit.

First though, he had a job to do.

 **Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Naruto didn't even bother listening to the team announcements. She already knew who would be on her team and was briefed on who their squad leader would be; Kakashi Hatake. 

She still tuned in to the noise, just in case new information was given, but for the most part pretended to listen with wrapped attention, instead mulling over her report in her head.

Ever since the first day 9 years ago when she was given this secret mission, she had been expected to give a weekly verbal report to the aging Kage. Most of the time (never) there wasn't anything of significant value to report on, though gave a full description of the weekly activities anyways, as was required of her. 

Sometimes the Hokage would ask her questions that she failed to understand the relevance of. "How did that make you feel?" "What's your opinion on... " and a bunch of other odd questions that, to her, had no connections what so ever to her mission. But she answered them anyways to the best of her abilities. 

"... And team seven will consist of Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Hinata Hyuuga. Your Jonin sense is Kakashi Hatake." 

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Kakashi Hatake, master of over a thousand jutsu, war veteran of the Third Shinobi War, and the worlds number one fan of the Make Out Paradise book series, regretted even getting out of bed. 

In front of him, an Uchiha with a 10 foot pole up his ass glaring daggers at him trying to intimidate him, and the young Uzumaki who was currently looking deep into his soul. And yes he knew who she was. He knew ALL about her and what she was capable of. 

Oh joy.

At least the third member of the group, Hinata Hyuuga a main branch member, who, thankfully, lacked a 10 foot pole up her ass, was normal just sitting patiently on the roof of the academy looking at him expectantly with an innocent smirk. He might have found it rather adorable if it weren't for the previously mentioned OTHER two members of the team.

He had to admit one thing however. He was impressed with the two heirs. Team mates on missions with her practically radiated fear from the pores of their skin, some even forced themselves into a life of drinking and gambling (while drinking) at some of the things they've seen in recent years with the young Uzumaki. Yet these 15 year old children yet to be Genin showed no fear and if they felt any discomfort at all they hid it well. 

Of course they didn't know of her reputation. The things she had done sent shivers down HIS back at catching word of them. He also knew perfectly well what she was capable of, having seen some of them first hand.

'Being naive had its rewards' he thought with slight amusement.

"Alright.." He said with a small clap of his hands, presenting his famous eye smile.

"Today my cute little Genins, we're going to get to know eachother. We're going to, one by one, state your names, your likes, your dislikes, and your dream for the future." He ended with his face turned to Hinata. Getting the hint she started first. 

"My name is Hinata Hyuuga. I like to press flowers, gardening, perfecting my work on the Hyuuga clan stances, and training in other forms of combat that don't involve the Hyuuga clan. I hate only one thing; the cage bird seal that our family has traditionally used. My dream for the future is to take on the role of the head of the Hyuuga clan and abolish the cage bird seal forever" 

Well. That was somewhat surprising. When she first started talking she was so quiet, but by the end of it all the whole thing had been spoken with such confidence, he had no doubts in his mind that in a few years time, her dream would be reality. 

Very good. Your turn" he said with a finger pointing to Sasuke.

"I don't like many things, but the few things I do like are my brother Itachi and training with my father. I dislike too many things to give you a list, and I don't feel like sharing my dream." 

Great. The biggest ego in the entire village, and it landed on HIS team. His irritation was masked with a convincing eye smile, but on the inside he was thinking of various cruel and unusual ways to beat that attitude out of the younger Uchiha. Egos got you killed. 

With sudden dread he turned to the last member of the team, making the smart decision to avoid direct eye contact. 

"Alright and last but not least, it's your turn." His eye smile never left his face though by this point the forced gester was cramping his face. 

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki. There's nothing more you need to know about me."

Twitch. 

Twitch. Twitch.

Finally the eye smile dropped, replaced by an uncontrollably twitchy eye, his deadpan stare looking straight into the Uzumaki's eyes, and THIS time he didn't give a damn.

The Uzumaki could practically feel the Uchiha trying his damnedest to put a hole through her head, though she didn't care enough to acknowledge it. 

"Well that was, err, very good Naruto. Thank you for sharing. Now that the... Pleasantries are over let's talk business.

"Officially your Genin. However I refuse to to take a team on missions that I find unsatisfactory. So tomorrow, to test your skills, I've developed a timed trial. The goal is quite simple: your to take these from me." He finished his sentence off brandishing three silver bells. (That's right! Three!) 

"Three bells, one for each of you. As of right now they all look the same and quite boring to look at. Come tomorrow each will have hrs own unique color. You each will be assigned one of those colors and your mission is I retrieve your assigned bell. Arrive at training ground 7 tomorrow at 9. You'll have until noon to retrieve them."

His flow of words stopped for a moment allowing them to digest the information.

"Now then, be sure to get some rest tonight." He said turning to leave until he stopped as he remembered something else.

"Oh yes! I almost forgot. Don't eat anything tomorrow before showing up. Those who don't obtain their bell will go hungry while they watch those who did get their bells eat."

A swirl of leaves signaled his departure. After a moment Naruto got up at a casual pace before she too disappeared in a swirl of leaves. 

With nothing left to glare at, as the Hyuuga heiress was actually someone he could stand, he turned and casually walked away, Hinata following in his footsteps a second later. 

Authors notes

Phew! Well it took ALOT to write this. Like I redid it like several times. In the end I'm happy with the end result. Now to clear things up no Naruto is not overpowered. And I give Hinata the feeling of being in the presence of a god but that's only in the eyes of Hinata. Naruto strictly speaking is very very strong but she's realistic. She's too young to be a powerhouse of unbeatable power, even with my age increase. Their all like 3 years older becoming Genins then they were in canon. Also I apologize for not having any REAL academy scenes. I tried to write some stuff down but I wasn't happy with it. There's nothing to write. It felt like a waste to write down scenes of Naruto ignoring the world when I could put it in the way I did here. Now don't worry the other rookies will have their time. Part of what makes academy scenes in situations like this so fun to read is tht you get to read the reactions and thoughts of the other rookie members. I've robbed you of this for now by my particular flow and writing style jjust didn't feel comfortable about writing it here. Besides the story has been kind of slow anyways I needed to speed things up a tad. Anyways next chapter will have the bell test along with my twist on it for sure. The bell test actually is important. I COULD leave it out if I wanted to but it has a purpose so you guys and gals will get it. Well anyways enough ramblings. I feel like I had more to say but oh well. I'll mention it next chapter if it comes to me. Until next time! 


	5. Chapter 5

Authors Notes

Ok so I thought I should mention, I changed the summary and the name of this fic. I think both fit much better. Now a warning. The rest of this authors note is me explaining why I did and didn't do some things. I do read my reviews and its time to answer some questions. So this is a long authors note for those of you wishing to just skip to the story you won't be missing anything vital to the story.

Q: why keep the name Naruto if it's a female Naruto fic where she's clearly not hiding her identity?

A: simply put because it's still Naruto. Like I like the name Naruko but Naruto for one helps keep me from getting confused and two I think when it comes down to an inhuman weapon raised to kill Naruto seems like a better fit.

Q:was Naruto raised as a weapon from birth on? Emotional conditioning included?

A: yes from the moment it was physically possible for her to be trained she was raised to, not ignore emotions, but to get as close to possible to not even having any. Obviously the still exist if just barely. And I mean... BARELY.

Q: why place a jinchuuriki in a unit that hardly if ever uses jutsu? Instead of ANBU?

A: a few reasons. Reason number one is Sarutobi couldn't not make Naruto a ninja from a young age. Had he had things his way she would have had a childhood and been... Normal. In a division such as the one I invented here he had hoped it would stall or even make the process of her losing all humanity until he could hopefully repair any damage. It sort of worked she still has some of her innocence. She's still curious like any 6 year old ought to have been. And rest assured that curios nature didn't disappear with age being 15. Of course she still turned into a very dangerous human being but she's closer to being human than she would have been in ANBU. Second reason is she's suppose to be a secret weapon. ANBU, while opperating in the shadows, even still is too out in the open. The ghost division is secret to any who aren't ninja especially to anyone outside of the Leaf. Any civilian who are is aware of the division was ex-ninja anyways but they've been sworn to secrecy. Now obviously some of the stuff they do gets to the public but not who or how. Merely speculation and what not.

Q: why does Sarutobi place her on the undercover mission? Wouldn't that have a negative outcome on her?

A: well she's been raised from a young age to follow the orders of her superiors. At ALL times no matter what. Now while I agree there are some stuff that can't be taken out of an animals instinct, a lion raised with humans will still act like a lion in some fashion, but we also act and reflect from our parents. Narutos first memory and only memories to date are what it's like to live a life following orders, being raised and trained by people who show no outword emotion. All she knows is how to be what many consider to be the perfect ninja. More or less. She obviously shows human habits here and there but those are part of the 'instinct' that you can't erase. Because of this he places her undercover hoping she'll soak up some of what she sees around her and be more normal from it. But unfortunately for Hiruzen her trained instincts are a bit too strong. Yes I realize te discipline she has for a 6 year old is unlikely but as far as I'm concerned we can only guess and speculate here in the real world what would happen should you raise someone from birth to be this way. It's too inhumane for such an experiment to go far enough to know. So this is me exploiting that lack of absolute knowledge.

Q: wouldn't Narutos upbringing make the nine tails job much easier at getting to her and breaking her?

A: well yes and no. She's been trained not to feel anything and anything she does feel is suppose to be (supposed to be) brushed off as a weakness and a flaw in her existence. With her thinking that she would train it out of herself until nothing remains. Sarutobi doesent allow that to happen though. (Sneaky guy). It would be dangerous if she only knows negative emotions but the seal on her is quite strong. If would take a lot more than an emotional breakdown for the fox to get to her. This is a seal of what in my fiction deams one of the strongest persons to ever exist on the face of the earth next to the sage of six paths (who is merely a legend as far as anyone is concerned).

I hope this satisfies my readers. I really enjoy the questions so if I could get MORE reviews that would e amazing. I like it when my audience let's me know what they think. Anyways on to the story. And as always I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 5

Sasuke and Hinata were still rubbing sleep out of their eyes when they arrived at training ground seven. They had about 30 minutes before Kakashi would be there.

As expected Naruto was already there, and had probably been waiting for hours.

She had always showed up hours early at the academy, which was found odd but no one dared to question her about it.

She was sitting in the middle of the field in a meditative position, and gave off no indication that she even knew the two were there, though they knew better than to think she didn't.

Among the many things they wondered about their mysterious team mate was how she was always so calm and collected. Even in the glaring heat she showed no sign of sweat. Even under all that dark clothing. Her current attire was an ANBU style black cloak. She chose not to wear the hood this morning. Under it she wore armor that was similar to the armor ANBU wore, except pitch black (white is reserved for the real ANBU members but ANYONE can buy the armor in any other custom color). She wore black pants, and to complete the outfit wore black fingerless gloves.

8:30 turned into 9:00, and 9:00 turned into 9:30 but still no sign of Kakashi.

It wasn't until 10:00 that a familiar poof of smoke caught there attention, signaling kalashis arrival.

"Your late" the Uchiha bit out irritably.

"Now, now, Sasuke. I said YOU had to show up at 9. I never said when I would show up." He said with his worlds famous eye smile, which seemed to grow at Sasukes low growl.

"Now then, I expect that all of you followed my directions and didn't eat anything this morning"

The response was a resounding growl from two out of the three. His eyes shifted slightly to Naruto who stared back. He had no doubt in his mind; she followed the direction. She wouldn't show the weakness though.

"Good. Well at least we know you lot can take orders." He said, two low growls aimed at him as his only response.

"Alright down to business. The bells are in the forest waiting for you. Sasuke, your bell is in that direction, your bell is blue," he said pointing to the tree line to his right.

"Hinata your bell is in that direction, your color is white," this time pointing to his left.

"And Narutos yours is in that direction, your color is red." He finished pointing behind him.

"All you have to do is get past me, grab the bell, and your mission is complete. But remember you have until noon."

The rules were simple and straight to the point but Hinata couldn't help but notice something didn't quite add up.

"But sensei I how are you going to be in three places at once?"

Kakashi chuckled before speaking, "I'm glad you asked. The test starts now!" He said not a moment later popping in a poof of smoke answering her question.

Clones.

After a moment Naruto got up from her place on the ground and walked in the direction of her bell, stopping after a few feet to address her other two team mates.

"We have a test to complete." Her monotone voice sent small chills down their spine but they nodded their head in agreement and split up in the direction of their respective bells.

 **Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

It didn't take too much time for her to find the location of her bell. The area was a small opening in the forest. In front of her stood a lake separating one side of the clearing from the other. The surface of the lake was absolutely still.

On the other side of the clearing was a single tree, from its branches hung hundreds of dark red bells, the intention quite clear: her bell was among them and must be a shade lighter or darker than these ones.

"Don't worry your bell is there." Came Kakashis voice as he walked from behind a tree.

"Your the real Kakashi." Naruto said as if she was staying a fact, getting a nod in response.

"Clones should be enough to keep the other two busy."

Naruto nodded. It made sense. Clones weren't nearly as powerful as the real deal. They weren't meant for fighting as much as they were intelligence gathering so they didn't need to be strong. Though against two fresh greenhorns like Hinata and Sasuke they would do just fine.

"This is unusually cruel Hatake. I never would have expected you would be the one to have created this."

Kakashi raised his visible eyebrow. "Do tell Naruto."

"They have no hopes of obtaining those bells from you. Even mere clones are more than capable of holding them back. They were doomed to fail from the beginning."

"Perceptive as always. I suppose nothing gets by you does it Naruto," he chucked "this test is more than just a display of skill. For Sasuke it's to take his ego down a notch. We can't have him getting killed over a big head. The taste of defeat should humble him up a tad. Hinata needs more experience. Up until now she's only fought other Hyuugas, and I doubt her fellow classmates put up much of a challenge." It wasn't a complete lie. Those were things he hoped would come from this. Truth be told the real reason for this was because it was less likely to blow Narutos cover. The old bell test had to be scrapped and he hadn't had much time to prepare something a little more thought out. Thankfully Naruto didn't seem to notice the almost clumsily put together plan.

She couldn't help but appreciate it. It was deceptively simple almost like it was thought of in 30 minutes... While it wouldn't outright get rid of Sasukes ego, the taste of defeat would bring him back down to earth. Hinata would be able to fight against something new. Against a Hyuuga, Hinata would surely be able to stand her own ground. But against a foe who had a different set of skills she would be handicapped. Especially if it was a ranged fighter as she would have a hard time getting close enough to use her gentle fist style.

"I couldn't help but notice you left me out Hatake."

His face became neutral, his emotions steeled. Gone was the nonchalant attitude, replaced with the visage of a seasoned shinobi. "You'll have to find the meaning of your lesson on your own Naruto," a kunai was in his right hand by the time he finished.

Wordlessly Naruto reached into her cloak and retrieved a small scroll. In a blur of motion the scroll was pulled open a small poof of smoke hiding her figure for a few seconds. When the smoke cleared instead of the scroll, she held a sword, it's edge flashing in the sunlight.

Kakashi couldn't help but appreciate the craftsmanship of the sword. It was elegant in every way, from its slight curve, to its perfect edge.

Without warning both shinobi disappeared in blurs, reappearing a second later in the middle of the lake steel clashed against steel, the water sloshed around them in protest.

After a few seconds of struggle they both pushed away from eachother, sliding across the water to opposite ends of the lake.

Without hesitation they ran at eachother again meeting in the middle of the lake, their arms were blurs, neither giving an inch, each blocking the others attempt to stab or slice with the flashing of sparks each time kunai met sword.

With a final clash their steel met, each one trying to overpower the other. With a grunt, and an incredable ammount of effort, Kakashi pushed her blade away leaving her front wide open.

Not willing to miss the opportunity, a kunai puffed into his empty left hand as he crossed his arms, intent on delivering two slashes across her chest.

Recovering from Kakashi's push, Naruto quickly brought her blade down blocking both kunai.

Undeterred, Kakashi brought his right leg up, and delivered a vicious kick to her stomach. Not done Kakashi, using the momentum of the kick, pulled his entire body back, using the two kunai still trapping Narutos blade to pull the sword from her grip, which slackened enough from the kick.

The sword landed in a shallow part of the water on the lakes edge, it's blade piercing the ground keeping the blade standing with its handle pointing at the sky.

Using the last little bit of momentum he had, he flipped his body up right to land on his feet. The resulting splash didn't have time to settle before he was moving again, the two kunai reflecting the sunlight.

Naruto, having recovered, was forced to act quickly, ducking, twisting, and dodging in any way, narrowly avoiding the sharp edge of the kunai.

After some time of this, Kakashi stabbed both kunai forward, but Narutos reflexes didn't allow them to go far as she caught both his arms by the wrist stopping them dead in their tracks.

'Looks can sure be decieving' Kakashi thought in the struggle. Despite her femanine body (no sexism here! I promise!) she displayed a incredable amount of strength, meeting Kakashi on equal footing.

Naruto took advantage of her position to pull her entire body back, bringing Kakashi with her. Using the momentum his body created, she flipped him over her body creating some distance.

Kakashi not allowing her any room to breath threw several shuriken while moving through the air, resulting in her back flipping several times to dodge the sharp projectiles. In one last flip she rose high in he air, gracefully landing on the handle of her sword, which was still stuck in the ground.

Both ninja took advantage of the moment to recover after their exchange of blows. While neither were tired, they needed the time to strategize.

Deciding to take the match up a level, Kakashi brought his hand to his headband covering his eye, and lifted it to reveal his sharingan.

Naruto answered by bringing both hands in front of her face, the fingers interlocked with eachother.

After a deep breath she released it, firing several small balls of fire, each traveling like bullets leaving streaks across the waters surface as they traveled.

With his enhanced sight, Kakashi flipped, dodged, and weaved, avoiding the projectiles with relative ease, though the sheer number of them kept him from advancing.

Deciding to change her strategy, Naruto started making a sequence of hand seals. Kakashi was able to read them, and knew which jutsu she would use, and answered with his own set of hand seals.

Naruto finished her set first, but Kakashi was right behind her, both stating the name of their respective jutsu.

"Fire style: fire dragon jutsu!"

"Water style: water dragon jutsu"

From her mouth a raging dragon of pure flame roared into life, while from the water behind Kakashi a just as massive water dragon climbed out of the water, it's own roar causing the surrounding water to jostle slightly.

Both attacks met in the middle of the lake, both smashing, snarling, and roaring at the other. Neither was willing to give, the huge chakra masses battling for supremacy creating massive waves in the surrounding water.

Deciding the risk was worth it, Naruto amped the ammount of chakra giving her beast life, it's heat increasing exponentially. With a final roar both dragons slammed into eachother again both disappearing in a mass of water vaper that quickly covered the entire lake, reducing the visibility greatly.

Kakashi squinted his eyes in attempt to pierce the vapor, but with no luck. His sharingan, he realized was also useless, leaving him with only one thought.

'Naruto, you sly fox'

He could still sense her position on the other side of the lake, but a sudden burst of chakra told him to expect another onslaught.

From naruto's position, she fired more bullets of fire at the location she sensed Kakashi to be. When she was done she waited, focusing intently. She couldn't sense him anymore. Either she knocked him out, or he was using no chakra and suppressed his position.

The mist had cleared considerably, reduced to a light fog.

She felt a sudden burst of energy from below the surface of the water a few feet in front of her but was unable to react fast enough, as Kakashi's fist planted itself under her jaw, his chakra enhanced fist sent her flying backwards, until she came to a sudden stop, her back coming in contact with the tree of many bells some getting knocked off in the process.

She went to move but, her sword suddenly came into contact with the tree, also pinning her against the wood by the sleeve of her black body suit under her ANBU armor. In this case the reinforced fabric was a hindrance as she couldn't tear her way out and the blade was in the tree down to the handle not leaving enough to cut the fabric with.

Noticing Kakashi speeding towards her, she quickly grabbed the handle of her sword and, noticing she couldn't pull it out, channeled chakra to the blade only to release it, the chakra slicing the tree in two, which also freed her blade.

Kakashi had to stop lest he step in the path of the falling tree. As it hit the ground hundreds of bells flew off of it into the air. One caught the attention of Naruto.

It was the one. It was just a shade lighter than the other bells around it, but it was the one she needed. With the target in sight she moved forward to catch it. Before she could close her fist around it Kakashis hand also met hers their fists slamming into one another, the bell falling towards them.

The bell fell in the middle of their fistst taunting one of them to make a move, both of them keeping it in place.

Without glancing at eachother, both use their index fingers to shoot the bell up in the air. As it was on its way up both ninja took to fighting, steel of kunai and blade meeting eachother again in blurs.

The bell was on its way down now. Naruto having had enough, let Kakashis kunai stab her, blood seeping from the two puncture wounds in either side of her abdomen. Taking advantage of Kakashis shocked expression she used her arms to pin Kakashi's arms in place, reared her head back, and slammed it into his forehead with as much force as she could muster, stunning him and making him step back dazed, and with stars in his vision.

After a second, he shook his head clear and looked up. In front of him Naruto stood with her hand in the air having caught the bell.

The test was over. She won.

Both of his eyes came up in an upside down U shape, his signature eye smile reappearing.

"Congratulations Naruto. Mission complete."

Authors notes.

So I decided the story up to this point was lacking action so I dedicated basically this whole chapter to the fight scene. The other fight scenes will come soon enough but not in the way you think. In other words bits and pieces will come up, but as of right now this fight was more important. I've devoted a lot lf story time to Hinata and Sasuke but Naruto is the main character so I decided she needs more screen time. Chances are the other fights will come in the form of flashbacks. I mean, not much to write about them Naruto said it herself, they wouldn't stand a chance. Their fights are stil Important but just not right now. Don't worry they'll show up. Anyways I hope you enjoyed. I did my best with this fight scene. Honesty it all came naturally lol. Hopefully it appeals to you readers. If not... Sorry next chapter will be more... Story related. Also I kinda hope to get more reviews. I love it when my fans communicate with me. Hell even haters can comment. It atleast lets me know I did something wrong. I might sound a bit pathetic here begging for reviews but it helps me out to know people are enjoying it, and if I can change the pace of the story a bit for more people to enjoy it as well I wouldn't be apposed to that. Any review is welcome especially any that are looking to help me improve my writing skills, or any that compliment me on what I've done so far. Anyways until next time! I hope this chapter was enjoyable.


	6. Chapter 6

**Authors Notes**

Well nothing to say here other than thank you all of you who have reviewed. Keep them coming you guys are amazing. Let's get on to the story. As always, I hope you enjoy.

 **Chapter 6**

A month had passed since the bell test. Both Sasuke and Hinata kept their lips tight on the matter, neither wiling to talk about it. Not that conversation was common from their team. Most evenings together was spent with Sasuke glaring holes in the ever silent Uzumaki who showed no sign of caring. Poor Hinata was left in the middle of it all.

The slightly dysfunctional team returned from their recent mission to retrieve the Daimios wife's cat, the feline scratching uselessly at Narutos arm, which was holding her by the scruff of her neck.

Needless to say Tora lived up to her reputation of being the worst D-Rank that ever existed. Sasuke wore an impressive scratch on his left cheek that was bleeding prefusely. Hinata's normally calm pale eyes instead held a fire in them that spoke of unimaginable pain, even Naruto kept her distance, though she too couldn't help her eyes narrowing dangerously at the feline, imagining many different ways to kill the thing without drawing suspicion to herself. Kakashi looked on with barely restrained amusement.

Before any harm befell the cat, the Daimios wife showed up to retrieve her. It was with an immense amount of satisfaction that the team watched the woman hug her tightly to her breasts, it's bones cracking in protest.

Sarutobi's voice caught their attention, "let's see, what we have left. We have cleaning the Inuzuka clan dog houses, repairing Mr. Kaito's fence, cleaning out the..."

His list was cut off by Hinata's voice, surprising everyone even Naruto, who raised an eyebrow in response."lord hokage," her calm voice said, a shadow of annoyance highlighting her words "I would like to request a higher ranking mission. I understand we are a relatively new team but I feel as though our skills are being wasted on these... D-Ranks."

While she wouldn't voice her opinion, Naruto couldn't help but agree. Since becoming a member of team seven a month ago her usual missions from the ghost division ceased. She could practically feel her skills deteriorating with their lack of use. She was a trained killer, not a maid.

The ages hokage looked at her in amusement, pretending to give it some thought just to get her antsy, which worked, before he spoke, "very well. As it happens I recieved a C-Rank mission two days ago from the Land of Waves."

Nobody would express their slight shock that Hinata's outburst worked, but they all were visibly pleased at the knowledge that it did.

"Wave has been under the control of Gato, who rules it with an iron fist. Builder Tazuna is one of the few who actively appose him having started construction of a bridge that ,should it reach completion, would free the land from his grip. Your mission is to protect Tazuna while he completes his bridge. He has also requested that his family would be protected. You will have another squad accompany you to assist you. Any questions?"

To everyone's surprise it was Naruto who spoke up next. "What team will be attending with us?"

 **Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Shikamaru was regretting his life choices. The ninja life could be described in one word: troublesome.

He was currently in the middle of the traveling group. At the front, Kakashi and Asuma. Behind them was Hinata, who was in conversation with Ino. He was next in line next to Sasuke. Behind him was his other team mate Choji, who was trying to start conversation with Naruto but was having no such luck as she only responded in one word sentences.

His feet hurt, the sun was pounding into him, and they still had hours left in the journey. At least Sasuke wasn't a conversationalist.

 **Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Kakashi and Asuma traveled in relative silence, one was reading his usual book, the other enjoying a cigarette. A question broke the silence.

"Kakashi, is that...?" He motioned his head slightly behind him.

Kakashi didn't even need to pry his eyes from his book to understand the motion. "Yeah, that's her." He said with a sigh. He was referring to Naruto.

Asuma thought for a bit, contemplating his next words before he spoke again. "To put someone like that with mere children. I understand the kid isn't the Nine Tails, but she's a monster in her own right."

Kakashi's eyes shifted from his book and landed on Asuma. "That's precisely what we're trying to fix."

 **Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

The trip to wave went off without much of a hitch. It wasn't expected that they would have trouble anyways, but nothing was certain in the ninja world. For all any of them were concerned Orochimaru could have randomly showed up just for shits and giggles. Unlikely, but possible.

Tazuna's family was.. Quite the odd assortment. Tazuna's daughter, Tsunami, was kind and soft spoken, and was usually seen with a small smile on her face. Her son Inari, and Tazuna's grandson, was the exact opposite. Inari was anything but a bundle of joy, and chose to stay a lone in his room most of the time, only coming down to eat.

Tazuna himself was... Well... First impressions didn't speak well for him. He was a bit of an alcoholic, having been found asleep in a chair with an empty sake bottle in hand, with several more littered around him. He was, apparently, also an avid gambler, having managed to per sue Asuma and Kakashi in a game of cards. Kakashi won, much to the dismay of his two opponents, leaving Asuma grumbling something about "one eyed cheaters," or something like that.

The next day, when Tazuna was sober and able to construct sentences with full clarity, it was decided the two teams would rotate each member, one by one, between keeping watch at Tazuna's house, and guarding Tazuna while he worked on his bridge. Asuma and Kakashi would alternate daily.

The weather at Wave seemed to change rapidly by the hour, from sunshine and clear skies, to dark and cloudy, to full on downpoor, and then back to sunny and clear.

Sometimes a thin mist would be present reducing visibility enough to be an annoyance to the workers constructing the bridge.

This was the setting Shikamaru found himself in. A thin mist permeated the air around him. All in all it was a troublesome situation.

The current line up for watching Tazuna included himself, along with Ino and Naruto. Kakashi was the Jonin in charge in the rotation. In other words, the most troublesome combination for him.

Between Ino and Kakashi, trying to act on his more lazy habits had been impossible. Kakashi liked to take sick pleasure in drenching him in ice cold water when he was caught sleeping. Ino had an ugly habit of nagging at him, and Naruto, while not quite so upfront about her distaste for it, took to staring at him until he started moving. He would keep his thoughts to himself but they weren't flattering.

'A sick bastard who seems to take pleasure in annoying me, two troublesome blonds that won't leave me alone... And what the hell is the deal with this mist?"

Over the course of the day the usually thin mist deepened, blanketing the air in white clouds reducing visibility more and more as the day continued.

Ino didn't seem to think much of it, though she had her fair share of complaints. Neither Naruto nor Kakashi seemed to mind it much, though they did have to visibly strain their eyes to continue their duties.

What he couldn't see however was the thought Naruto and Kakashi shared. Mist this thick, while not unheard of, was out of place considering up until that point it had been a low haze. This new mist however reduced visibility to about 10 feet, and visibly slowed down the construction of the bridge. Worst yet it was showing no signs of thinning out any time soon. Today was one of Waves more warmer mornings, so the mist shouldn't have been a factor period.

All and all it was suspicious, keeping Naruto and Kakashi on high alert, though on the outside they gave off more relaxed postures.

A sudden shift in the mist caught Kakashi off guard leaving him with no time to react to the metal claw that slashed his throat, his body falling to the ground with a thud. His attacker appeared a moment later next to his body, his eyes locked onto Naruto who watched the scene with a bored expression.

Her attacker, who she instantly recognized from the bingo books as Gozu, stood straight his gaze never leaving her as he spoke.

"Your next."

 **Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Ino was having a bad day. First she woke up with an intense pain in her backs. Those sleeping mats were far from comfortable. Then she burnt her tongue on her oatmeal that she was planning on having for breakfast. Then when she went to cool her mouth with an ice cold glass of water, it slipped from her hand delivering the ice cold liquid to her crotch. And now to make matters worst, a crazy man with a clawed gauntlet on one of his hands was trying to kill them. This officially marked her day as the worst day ever.

At least they didn't seem to take interest in the mass of people running and screaming in unorganized panic.

The sound of fighting in the distance gave evidence that Naruto was in her own battle, which seemed to be going better than her and Shikamaru's.

Their opponent was quick and agile, avoiding Shikamaru's shadow with ease. Though it did do well to keep him at a distance. Tazuna was currently behind them looking at the battle with great intensity. It was like he was trying to use his will power alone to shift the battle in their favor.

The battle hadn't started out all that well. Their assailant had managed to use the mist, which she now realized must have been their doing, to catch them by surprise creating a gash on Inos left arm. A numbing sensation was vibrating through the wound and was climbing up her arm, realizing with a sigh of frustration she was poisoned.

She turned to Shikamaru who was beside her with his hands together in the sign to use his shadow jutsu.

"Shikamaru, don't let him even so much as scratch you. His gauntlet is laced with a numbing poison." Her response a grunt in agreement and a small muttering of "troublesome."

They had to think of something quick. They wouldn't be able to keep him at bay for long. Worst yet her poisoned arm was useless and limp at her side making hand signs impossible.

Where was Kakashi when you needed him?

 **Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

All had been quiet at first. The sun was shining down with bright and clear skies over the residence of Tazuna's house.

Then the mist rolled in.

It started off as a thin veil of fog. Then the sun was blocked out, it's rays barely able to pierce the cloud.

Then it started. The front door was kicked in wth a resounding crash, alerting the ninja present weapon flashed into existence in their hands.

They had told Tsunami and Inari to go upstairs and hide. They would keep them safe.

That was becoming a real hastle as it turned out. A seemingly endless supply of thugs armed with swords, knives, some even with bats that had nails twisted and forced into them to create makeshift maces. There were even ninja mixed into the group, their Hidden Mist headbands worn in an assortment of different ways, a deep gash ran through the metal plating.

Thugs and ninja were divided, each with their own goal. The ninja were fighting Asuma, as he was the biggest threat, trying to tire him out and take him down. The thugs and bandits were tasked with taking down the three teens, having been underestimated. They were doing well on their own. Genin they might be, but a common man was no match for a trained ninja. Even still they seemed to be a never ending resource. For every one taken down two took his or hers place.

Even from Asuma's position in the fight the numbers were starting to annoy him. His trench knives were coated in blood, parts of his uniform was stained crimson.

Through all of this there was one question burning in his head. What were Hidden Mist shinobi doing here? They were suppose to be in the middle of a civil war.

He didn't have time to think on it, as he was forced to bat away an enemy ninja who dove at him, the brass knuckle part of his trench knife coming into contact with the ninjas throat with a crunch.

C-Rank mission his ass!

 **Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Naruto wrenched her blade from her assailants throat with a sickening squelch, the blood coating her sword and staining the ground in a scarlet pool.

She could sense four chakra signatures, two she recognized as Shikamaru and Ino. The third was Kakashi. The fourth she assumed, must have been the other half of the demon brothers duo, Meizu.

Kakashi's presence suddenly shifted its presence from his distant location, to Shikamaru and Ino's location. No doubt the use of the body flicker technique.

Apperently he was done watching the show. She sheathed her sword, which was now hidden under the her cloak, as she started walking to their location. As she moved she noticed the mist was starting to thin. With visibility restored she could see Kakashi, who was attending to Ino's wound, and Shikamaru, who was sitting cross legged on the ground trying to regain some lost energy. Tazuna stood to the side.

Having finished his work with Ino's arm, which she could now move freely, he turned to Naruto his voice, while not overly serious, lost its usual nonchalant vibe.

"We're returning to Tazuna's home. No doubt if we had trouble here they are having trouble as well. I'm taking Tazuna with me as well. Between here and his home he's probably still safer there than out here in the open. You stay here and keep watch." A sharp nod was all he notice before the four individuals disappeared in a poof of smoke.

"You..." Came a weak voice. Her gaze shifted to the 'unconscious' Meizu except he wasn't unconcious. His half lidded eyes looked at her in hate.

"You... You killed my brother... I'm.. Going to kill you..." He rasped out, his voice was labored, and in all honesty she was surprised and somewhat impressed at his ability to stay conscious.

She unsheathed her sword in a slow deliberate pace. Once fully unsheathed she pointed the tip to his throat, a slight twitch on his part drawing a bit of blood from the resulting cut.

She never finished however, as she had to move away or be sliced in half by the biggest sword she ever saw, that plunged itself into the concrete ground.

"Impressive dodge kid." Came a deep voice that seemed to come from everywhere. A moment later a tall man with bandages covering the upper part of his body and half of his face showed up.

"Hehe... Your fucked.. Now... Bitch... Your as good dead." Meizu's weak voice came from behind Zabuza.

Zabuza's gaze stayed on Naruto for a moment, before it shifted behind her towards the dead corps of Gozu.

He lifted his blade from its position pierced into the ground with ease, like the heavy weapon weighed that of a paperclip. He rested it on his shoulder for a moment, before using it to motion towards the dead body several meters in front of him.

"I take it that's your doing?" He asked in a tone that one might use of they were making polite conversation.

Meizu's frantic voice rang once again, "yeah boss! That's... That's her doing. She killed him... That bitch killed Gozu! Your dead now bitch! Now... Your going to learn what happens when-" he was never able to finish, his head hit the ground with a thud, his body slumping to the side as blood spilled from his cleanlt sliced neck.

"Useless, both of them. If you want a job done you have to do it yourself. Isn't that right Haku."

As he finished a swirl lf water to his right signaled a new arrival. The figure wore a white hunter nin mask, the symbol for Mist etched between the eye holes.

"Of course master Zabuza." Came the femanine voice. A few seconds passed before she spoke again.

"Shall I deal with her master Zabuza?"

He seemed to mull it over a moment before he shrugged his shoulders and answered with a "make it quick", before he walked away a short distance and sat down, stabbing his sword into the ground. Apperently he intended to watch.

 **Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

It was a relief when Kakashi showed up with Ino and Shikamaru in toe. Both of the teens looked battered and a little tired, but otherwise looked ok.

The endless supply of enemies didn't know any sign of slowing down, but with the scale tipped to their side a little more, Asuma had no doubt that they would soon pull a victory. Kakashi and Asuma respectively didn't just stumble upon their reputations, or have it fall in their lap. They lived up to the rumours of other villages and then some.

Hinata, eyes glaring and alive with the byakugan, thrust her palm into an overweight man who attempted to take her head off with a swing of his axe, his body flung backwards in an odd sight for a man his size.

She moved swiftly to the side avoiding a sloppy swing of a sword from behind her, and taking advantage of his over extension, delivered a harsh kick to his side the sound of cracking ribs reaching her ears.

Looking around she noticed she was surrounding by five, each brandishing a different weapon. She closed her eyes as they charged, their aggressive screams following.

At the last possible moment she spun on her heels, a blue orb of spiraling chakra surrounded her and pushed forward, knocking her attackers back each landing in painful and awkward positions. They wouldn't be getting up any time soon.

Se returned to her stance ready for more several bodies were running around her but they were... Running away. They were in retreat.

Without the need to keep it on, she turned her byakugan off. Her gaze met Sasukes and she smiled at him. He smiled back. A real one.

 **Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

She tore more of the senbon from her neck for what felt like the hundredth time. The wound didn't have much time to bleed as it healed over, the result was perfectly smooth skin as if nothing happened.

More senbon pierced her arm, and more pierced her calf just as fast as she could pull the ones before out. This was a repeating process, and it all started when she was caught in the ice mirrors. The thrice damned ice mirrors!

After this she never wanted to see ice again.

She could feel it. The prickling sensation all over her body, her heart rate increasing slightly. Her jaw clenching. Her eyes narrowing.

These familiar sensations. Something she felt before, but never this intense.

The feeling of irritation. She was annoyed, pulling out more senbon with a scowl.

Her opponent, Haku, was fast, too fast to follow with her eyes moving from mirror to mirror.

She closed her eyes, her other senses taking hold of her. She reached deep within her, and felt the familiar warmth of her foreign power heating the inside of her body.

Enough was enough.

 **Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Haku was sure of her victory. She blond proved to be quite the adversary, but it was over once she trapped her in her mirrors.

There was no escape.

Victory was all but a memmory.

The blonds eyes closed, and her head tilted down hiding her eyes. She had accepted her fate it seemed.

She didn't want to have to do this, but she knew this girl was too dangerous to be kept alive. For Zabuza, she would kill her.

She readied three senbon in each hand. With a push she moved out of her position in the mirror ready to deliver the final blow.

Until a hand wrapped around her throat. The blonds head rose slowly, and she could release a choked gasp at what she saw.

The eyes of a monster. Blood red, the black slits that were her pupils seemed to have a depth to them that sucked in all life, leaving behind only death.

This was no longer a girl.

This was a monster.

 **Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Zabuza could only look with wrapped from his position outside, as the ice dome grew several large cracks in it.

His eyes narrowed as he placed his hand on the handle of his blade, prepared for the battle he was sure was coming.

The cracks grew and increased in number creating a network of linking cracks in the ice, before the dome exploded.

He was forced to use his sword as a shield to block the razor sharp blades of ice that was once his students most powerful jutsu. He vaguely saw the unconcious body of Haku fly past him, but he could do little to help before he was forced to block a powerful sword strike.

Brown met red as their eyes locked in the power struggle.

"I guess there was more to you than met the eye"

"No response huh?" He said pushing her away slightly with a grunt using the space gained to dash backwards to create distance between them.

His eyes traveled down to the cracked mask of his student laying on the ground next to his feet, before he turned his attention back to her.

"I gues Haku wasn't enough either. I guess that means it's my turn."

"You needn't die here demon of the Mist. Back off now and I will allow you to live" her hollow voice rang out, a thread of annoyance sewn into her words.

"So she speaks after all. Sorry kid but I'm getting payed a hefty price for the bridge builders head, and I'm not leaving without it."

She rose her sword slowly as she spoke the tip of the blade directly at Zabuza by the end of the movement. "So be it."

Almost faster than his eyes could follow, a blade of glowing red extended from her sword.

He didn't have time to dodge it only able to use his sword to deflect it so it stabbed his shoulder instead of somewhere lethal, blood splattering to the ground. The red blade of what he could only assume was chakra was hot, hellishly so he could feel the hole in his shoulder being cooked.

It hurt.

A lot.

With a grunt of pain he grabbed the chakra weapon, his hands burning with smoke and steam as it attempted to cook his hand. With a powerful push he shoved the blade out of him, the chakra blade returning to its orogin and disappearing back into the blade.

"That's quite the trick kid. I don't know what kind of chakra that was, but I'm impressed." He said as he rolled the shoulder making sure it still worked.

"But it won't be enough to beat me" he finished bringing his sword up grasping it with both hands.

In a blur of speed both shinobi clashed, their blades releasing a flurry of sparks with each strike.

After a minute of repeating this, Zabuza angled his sword slightly, allowing Naruto blade to pass through the hole in the blade.

With impeccable timing he shoved his blade down stabbing the ground, Narutos blade following leaving her wide open.

With an opening present, Zabuza cocked his fist back and delivered a crushing blow to her face, the force of the punch sending her and her sword away and off of the unfinished edge of the bridge.

He moved forward with caution, blade in hand. Upon reaching the edge he slowly peered down only to have to dodge back to avoid a pillar of fire that almost melted his face off.

He stayed his ground a safe distance away from the edge waiting for her to show. But she some time passed and she didn't his confusion started to grow.

Suddenly a red chakra blade pierced the ground below him from under the bridge, which he only dodge off pure instinct.

The blade retracted, only for it to attempt to skewer him again in his new location. After repeating this action several more times, Zabuza dodged one more jumping high in the air as he made a series of hand signs, after which he blew out a steam of water that spun and twisted like a drill.

The water met the bridge in an explosion of stone as it tore a whole through the bridge. When the attack was done and the smoke has cleared, he had to swiftly lift his blade in defense as the longated chakra sword sliced through the bridge, attempting to split him down the middle.

When the attack failed the blade disappeared again. It reappeared a moment later carving a small hole in the bridge from which Naruto emerged.

'This kid... She's... She's something else.'

He didn't dwell on his thoughts long, he dashed forward to meet the blond. They traded several blade strikes, dodging or blocking each other neither gaining an inch.

Zabuza was suddenly caught off guard. She sidestepped his last downward strike and then did the inthinkable. She placed her arm in the whole of the blade, using her body weight and strength that a girl her age shouldn't possess to keep it in place leaving him wide open.

He couldn't dodge her next strike completely as it tore into his chest, his blood splatting in the ground. A sharp kick sent him flying away. He managed to recover relatively quickly though he was too weak to dodge the pillar of flame that roared towards him, having to result to use his sword as a shield hoping behind hope it would defend him.

The pillar of flame swallowed him, the force of the blaze sending him flying back deep into a tree line.

He landed on his back, his body was scorched and hurt all over. He couldn't move. He couldn't defend himself. He was going to die here.

The point of a sword met his neck, the ominous form of Naruto, her hood up shadowing the top half of her face. Her red eyes glowed at him from the shadow, her blank face looking back at him.

"Well? What are you waiting for? Get it over with." He said in a tired voice.

She raised her sword up, intent on delivering the final blow. His eyes closed waiting for the end to come.

But it never came.

A thud next to his body caused him to open his eyes, turning his head to the source of the sound. What he saw made his blood run cold, and his eyes widen in shock.

Beside him Haku lay on her back, a large slash across her body. She would bleed out if it wasn't tended to.

"Haku." He choked out.

From Narutos position she could only look at her in confusion. She couldn't say anything. What could she say? Her eyes turned from crimson back to their calm blues, shining with a burning question.

"Why?"

"Haku remained silent for a while before speaking. "Because he is important to me. He is everything to me. He is my precious person."

Precious person? What did that mean? What was a precious person. Did they perhaps have a bond that went deeper than a tool and the hand that uses it?

No.

Nonsense. The shinobi world knew no such bonds. Only death.

She moved her blade up again, ready to slice her throat. Her sword slashed down, but ther next words stopped her cold.

"I pity you."

Silence rang in the air for a moment.

"What?"

Haku could only smile at her. A sad painful smile. An emotion that traveled to her eyes.

"You know not of love. Of friendship. I see it in your eyes. You have only known loneliness. Your eyes have only seen death. I should know. My eyes looked the same. Once."

Love? Friendship? These were foreign ideas. She knew not of either. Should she? Should she know of these feelings.

"Is this a mission you were assigned?" She finally asked.

"It was a mission I gave myself. My own mission. Assigned by no one but myself."

Her own mission?

"Kill me." Her attention turned to Zabuza, confusion evident on her face.

"Your fight is with me. You leave Haku out of this. Kill me instead."

Zabuza too? Was this what love looked like? The willingness to foolishly throw yourself in harms way for someone else? Even giving up your life for them? Merely for the sake of love? She didn't understand.

How did the world, a world where hundreds upon thousands perished every day, know such... Such... What even was this?

No one expected her next move.

She sheathed her blade, walking away out of the dense trees.

They were both spared.

 **Authors notes**

It look about 12 hours to write this. I wanted everything to be perfect. Please review. Especially on this chapter. This is by far the most important chapter as of what exists right now and I would love to get as many opinions as possible. Also if I remember correctly this is my second or third consecutive day getting a chapter out. I'm quite proud of myself. Be sure to check out my other stories (shameless self promotion I know) love me anyways please! Until next time!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Her fight with Zabuza and Haku had sent Naruto in a state that others might call an existential crisis. She showed nothing on the outside, but inside her mind was at war with itself.

She had no idea what she had been thinking. Perhaps, at the time, she hadn't been. Her soul purpose in life was to act in the best interest of the Hidden Leaf. That meant completing every mission, leaving no chance of failure. Yet she spared them. Both of them. Her enemies.

Yet even more perplexing than that was, she didn't regret it. She didn't understand... Not fully. She knew one thing though. She had shown weakness. A weakness she would not repeat. The shinobi world knew not what mercy was. Therefore, neither should she.

She filed the thought away, her attention returning to the dirt path the two squads were traveling on. The bridge had been completed in two weeks time after the respective battles. Poor Tazuna almost had a heart attack at the condition Naruto left it in.

When asked about it by Kakashi, Naruto responded by saying the assailants had been dealt with. Which wasn't a lie if you thought about it. They weren't a threat at that point anymore.

Naruto, for a while, played with the idea that their injuries killed them, hoping that thought would put her mind at ease. The thought wasn't born into a long life though, her mind having crushed the thought soon after. Zabuza was too resilient to die there. And she doubted he would let Haku bleed out to die right next to him.

No. They were both alive. Not that it mattered anymore. Gato's hold on the land was weakened significantly, and given some time they would make a full recovery. All and all a successful mission. That didn't keep the bad taste from entering her mouth.

Never again.

 **Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Twenty seven seats made up the council of the Hidden Leaf. Most of the council comprised of some 40 year old civilians, with very few young faces. Seven of those seats were reserved for the clan heads of the Uchiha, the Hyuuga, the Nara, the Akamichi, the Yamanaka, the Aburame, and the Inuzuka. While not officially part of the council the clans held great political power. Therefor each clan was permitted one seat.

They only ever showed up for two things however: any decision that involved their clans directly, or when declaring war.

Aside from that the decisions of the council were left to the other 20 members, who's jobs mostly included infrastructure, the circulation of currency, and the court and police system. They also served as second opinions for the Hokage. Though most of the time second opinions turned into third, fourth, and fifth opinions as the council usually fractured their opinions across several different decisions.

The last, and least used power, was in choosing a new Hokage, a power than had only ever been used once, and required a majority 3/4ths total vote to be official.

The only time this power had ever been used was after the Fourth Hokage died. For some time it had been split between Sarutobi and Danzo.

Sarutobi ended up winning with the help of Hiashi, who's political power was the strongest in the village. It had been a tough battle as Danzo chose the Uchiha has his political back up. But the Hyuuga clans prestige exceeded that of the Uchiha, thus granting him a more powerful political game, ever slightly tilting scales in Sarutobi's favor.

The conclusive arguement that won Sarutobi the battle and reclaim his title as the Third Hokage was that the Leaf needed a leader with experience. A new leader, unfamiliar to the responsibility of Hokage, was not what the village needed as it was still recovering from the Nine Tails attack.

In the end the vote was unanimous.

The last council meeting had been a disaster. Things had gone fine for a time, then the subject of where funds would go reared its ugly head. The council was split between using the funds to repair areas of the Leaf still destroyed from the Nine Tails, or using it for more military advantages, the arguement being the Leaf had been fine for 15 years without those buildings, the leaf can wait longer.

Leave it to the council to argue about their use in money.

It was after these proceedings that found Fugaku Uchiha on a stool at the bar. His clan still had damages from the attack and as such, he felt it necessary to attend the meeting. It got nowhere fast and so a decision was still to be made as to where the funds would go.

The headache he acquired had been throbbing since then, and a good drink might soothe the ache. It couldn't hurt at least.

A body sitting down next to him caught his attention.

"The council get to you too Hiashi?" He asked the pale eyed man with a smirk.

"Something like that." He answered while ordering his own drink. A moment later a glass was placed in front of him.

They enjoyed a moment of calm silence before either spoke. It was Hiashi who broke the silence.

"So, our children should be returning any day now from their first C-Rank."

Fugaku took a swig of his drink. "Yeah. I heard they ran into some trouble though. Apperently the mission turned into an A-Rank without warning." Another swig.

Hiashi HAD heard of that. Needless to say his face paled considerably at the knowledge at first. But there was one thing he remembered that calmed his nerves, if only enough to regain control of his focus.

"They'll be fine though. Especially with HER on their team."

Fugaku's eyes narrowed at his drink, his expression turning sour. It didn't go unnoticed.

"Is something wrong my friend?"

Fugaku's grip on the glass tightened, threatening to shatter it. "Sarutobi never should have allowed things to go that far."

"I understand your unhappy about her being placed on a team with your son, but-"

"That's not the only problem Hiashi." He interrupted. The confused stare from the Hyuuga caused him to sigh.

"She was raised to be a powerful weapon, a tool with the potential of slaying whole armies. But what happens when those armies turn out to be our own?"

"Her loyalty is absolute Fugaku. She will not betray the Leaf."

His statement was met with a pause. "She's obedient now. But even Danzo could never rid his ROOT forces from all emotion. She is no different."

"I fail to see your point."

"What if the first emotion she learns in anger? What if it's hate? What's to keep her from feeling rebellious? What's to keep her from exhausting those emotions on us? And then what? Our own weapon blew up in our faces." The last of his drink disappeared down his throat. He motioned for another one, his empty glass replaced by a full one. "And worst yet she's on our children's team."

Hiashi stared in thought, weighing his words on an invisible scale. "Have faith friend. The third Hokage knows what he's doing. He didn't get the title for nothing after all."

Fugaku sighed in defeat, his anger seemed to vanish slightly. "Your right he had a better political partner." He half joked a small chuckle escaped his lips. "But I suppose your right. But that doesent mean I have to be happy about it."

Hiashi smiled. "Of course."

 **Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Team seven waited in their usual waiting spot on training ground seven. Earlier that week, Kakashi had visited each one of them at their respective houses, telling them they had the next six days off with his usual eye smile. This was met with some suspicion. He never gave them days off.

But true to his word, they enjoyed six days of peace and relaxation. Though now the break was over. Not that any of them minded. While the break had been a nice change of pace, even for Naruto, who instead chose to use the time to meditate and re-familiarize herself with her ANBU level training after those weeks in wave, it was nice to return to the usual schedule.

Kakashi had yet to arrive but he wasn't exactly late yet. Naruto could care less, and Hinata and Sasuke had decided that a thirty minute grace period for the cyclops wasn't all that bad. This meant that the usual routine consisted of Hinata and Sasuke sitting on the ground with their backs against a tree, while Naruto sat on one of the thick branches directly above them.

A poof of smoke had the two heirs standing to their feet, Naruto landing beside them from her branch. Kakashi, orange book of a seemingly never ending story in hand, greeted them with a wave of his hand and a "Yo!"

Hinata could only roll her eyes at their senseia nonchalant attitude before she asked "Whats the plan for the day sensei?"

"No plan today Hinata. I actually wanted you all here to bring... This to your attention." He said smiling, pulling out three slips of paper from his Jonin vest, handing one to each of the three teens. "These are applications for the Chunin Exams that will take place a month from today."

Three three Genins looked their respective applications over.

'I (blank) by signing this contract do hereby agree to follow the rules and regulations of the Chunin Exams, and agree to follow the respective laws of the host elemental nation, and the respective host village (foreign visitors reference your Village Handbook). This application is to be turned into the head of state two weeks prior to the event.'

"Now I want you three to take your time with your decisions. It doesent require a fool team to attend," he lied, "and should you decide to to attend, make sure it's not late. Dismissed." He waved and with a poof of smoke was gone again.

Naruto knew he lied. Full teams were required to attend the exams. But she also knew it did no good for a team to have members joining because they merely felt obligated to.

She turned to her team, the movement catching their attention. "Will the two of you attend?"

The two heirs glanced at eachother sharing a look, before turning back to Naruto with small smirks.

That was the only response Naruto needed.

 **Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

The wind whipped his formal robes around carrying waves of sand with it. The sandstorms of the desert were a weekly occurance, and acted as a natural defense against invaders to its hidden village.

Viability was reduced significantly, making the travel dangerous for anyone, even locals. Everyone except the Kazekage.

He headed north , towards the location his "host" chose for their meeting. The hostS identity, for the most part, was unknown, and while normally he wouldn't waste his time with such a matter, the animal that delivered the message spoke volumes of who had sent it on its mission.

There was only one person he could think of that used snakes.

A shadow in the distance caught his attention, and if the shape it produced was any indication, it's arms were crossed.

Slowly the figures features began to fill in as the distance between them shortened.

"Hm hm hm, I must say I half expected you not to show, Kazekage." The smooth voice gave the Kazekage a bad taste in his mouth. Unfortunately is was exactly who he predicted it would be.

Rasa's features hardened. "You have a lot of nerve, Orochimaru. What business do you have here?"

Orochimaru's smirk, which had been present durring the whole exchange, widened. "Straight to business as always Rasa. Very well." As he finished a snake left his sleeve, the serpent held a small scroll in between its fangs. It's traverse across the sand made it look easy.

It dropped the scroll to Rasa's feet before returning to Its home in a cloud of smoke , the reptile having no more use at the moment.

The Kazekage stared at it for a moment before deciding to at least humor the snake Sanin by picking it up from its place on the ground. He gave it one last glance before opening at a deliberate pace, just in case it was laced with traps. When nothing of interest happened, he began to read, his eyes scanning the across the page. His eyes visibly narrowed the further down the page he traveled. "these... These are plans for an attack on the Hidden Leaf."

A single line caused him to stop reading, his face contorted in rage before he tore the scroll in half. "How do you know about Gaara!?"

Orochimaru's lazy gaze stayed on him a moment in an obvious attempt to make the Kage angrier. It worked.

Satisfied he decided to answer. "Who do you think gave Jiraiya the idea for his spy network?" His nonchalant attitude didn't help the Kage's bad mood.

"You expect the Hidden Sand to participate in this? I never understood you to be this foolish Orochimaru. The Sand does not negotiate with the likes of you!"

"Obviously it does if I was granted an audience with YOU, Kazekage." He stated, enjoying the affect his words had on the Kazekage, who's angry expression deepened.

"The sand declines the request Orochimaru. Now get out of my sight." He said calmly, the rage now hidden beneath a mask of indifference.

The snake Sanins smirk grew to a full blown grin. "I thought you might say that." He said before biting on of his thumbs, the blood traveling down to his chin.

A quick set of hand seals put Sara in a defensive stance. "Summoning jutsu." His palm touched the ground leaving behind the familiar set of seals spreading across the sand. Nothing happened at first, which confused Sara, but a moment later a single coffin slowly ascended from the ground, the sand flowing off the top like a waterfall.

The lid of the coffin creaked open slightly, before it toppled to the ground, the contents of the wooden box now visible to the world.

Sara's eyes widened as his blood turned to ice, his voice caught in his throat. "H-how... What is this Orochimaru?" He finally managed.

Orochimaru's voice was low but Sara could still hear him through the sandstorm.

"So... What will it be now... Kazekage?"

 **Authors Notes**

And just like that another one bites the dust! Be sure to review and tell me your thoughts! Thanks for reading! Until next time.


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